You probably already have an idea of what to expect with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. Besides its dashing display, a powerful set of...
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You probably already have an idea of what to expect with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. Besides its dashing display, a powerful set of cameras, and beastly performance, it’s actually way more than what it looks.
With an “ultra” price tag, it is expected to go beyond its predecessor and most flagships in the market today, for that matter. So the question is, is the Galaxy S21 Ultra magnificent enough for its eye-popping price? And would you buy it despite the lack of a charging brick? Let’s find out.
The S21 Ultra has a few similarities to last year’s S20 Ultra. It’s a bit smaller yet still acceptably chunky to grip. You might want to use your two hands when using it.
Its frosted Gorilla Glass Victus back compliments the glossy aluminum frame, making it look very sleek and classy, especially in this Phantom Black color that we have. Locally, there’s also a Phantom Silver colorway available, but we’d still pick this deep black variant if you ask us.
So the S21 Ultra’s metal rear camera module sure is a head-turner. It’s protruding and looks larger than what we’re used to, but somehow Samsung managed to make it look smooth and cool by seamlessly blending it towards the edge. We like it! But then again, it is still uneven.
Upfront, we get a massive edge to edge display that’s just a real feast for the eyes. Like the S20 series, you can find the front camera on a hole punch set up in the upper middle part of the display.
For buttons and ports, we get some antenna bands all around. The left side is bare, while located on the right are all the buttons, specifically the volume rocker and the power/Bixby button.
Up top are two microphones, and at the bottom are its loudspeaker, USB Type-C port, main microphone, and a dual SIM tray with no dedicated slot for a microSD card.
The phone is sealed with IP68 water and dust-resistant, so it can withstand up to 1.5 meters deep at a maximum of 30 minutes—pushing it to its limits wouldn’t be the best idea, though.
Overall, the S21 Ultra’s design and build stand out, even compared to its siblings, the S21 and S21+. It’s elegant, polished, and the sleek camera design is just hard to hate.
More on that display, the S21 Ultra shows off a 6.8-inch Edge Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display with a resolution of 1440 x 3200px and a pixel density of 515ppi. And just like its back, it has Gorilla Glass Victus on top for protection.
From near or far, this display is utterly stunning. Samsung doesn’t disappoint when it comes to their AMOLED panels, but this one truly has a wow-factor, and we can’t get enough of it. It provides a buttery smooth experience with vibrant colors and deep blacks.
The resolution can be switched from Wide Quad HD+ to Full HD+, or a lower HD+ if you want to save battery and increase game frame rates. As for refresh rates, the option to switch between 60Hz and 120Hz is no longer available; instead, we get a Standard mode, which is purely 60Hz, and an Adaptive refresh rate that automatically adjusts from 10Hz up to 120Hz.
This is a game-changing feature that changes the way we look at high-refresh smartphone displays. Realistically, you don’t need that buttery smooth 90Hz or 120Hz, or even 144Hz all day. All that would do is drain your battery life. But since the S21 series features a dynamic refresh rate, this problem is alleviated. You get that maximum 120Hz for when you’re playing games or doing some smooth scrolling, but also 10Hz for viewing static images or text files.
The Eye Comfort Shield or blue light filter also now has an Adaptive mode, so it will automatically adjust based on the day’s time.
Other awesome display features include a peak brightness of 1600 nits, support for HDR10+, a new and improved ultrasonic under-display fingerprint sensor, and of course, the S-Pen support, which is a first for Samsung’s Galaxy S-series. This means that while S-Pens will work on the S21 Ultra, it doesn’t have an actual S-Pen slot built-in. For that, you’ll have to get a separate case.
When it comes to audio, expect an immersive experience as sound comes from the downward-firing speaker and its earpiece. The two speakers’ combination is great, with good clarity and balance, although there’s not much bass present.
Then again, it’s loud enough to be heard in a medium-sized room, and you can take advantage of its Dolby Atmos modes for better sound output.
Alright, now one of the highlights of this Galaxy S21 Ultra is its cameras, and let’s dive deeper into that. It might seem like it has 5 lenses at the back, but really it has a quad-cam setup composed of a 108MP ISOCELL HM3 main sensor, a 12MP ultrawide, a 10MP 10x telephoto, and a 10MP 3x telephoto lens. The one on top of the LED flash is actually a Laser Autofocus sensor. The front camera, on the other hand, gets a 40MP sensor.
On the camera software side, we pretty much get improvements on past features like Super Steady Mode, Night Mode, Single Take Mode, and even the 100x Space Zoom that it’s well-known for. It also gives you the option to take RAW photos as well as HDR10+ videos.
Quality-wise, photos come out rich in colors and look significantly sharp, most evidently under good lighting conditions. We get crisp details, impressive dynamic range, and oftentimes consistent colors even if the lenses change.
We found ourselves using the ultra-wide lens a lot. And although there are some washed parts on the sides sometimes, it does an excellent job matching the colors as in standard mode.
The S21 Ultra doesn’t have a dedicated macro lens. Still, thanks to its laser autofocus, it automatically detects super close scenarios to switch the camera to the 12MP lens to give you an enhanced, detailed shot. When we zoom in 3x, we get a decent quality that maintains good colors and less noise if used in low light settings. Zooming it to 10x now gives us soft details that are still clearly acceptable.
As for that 100x zoom, we must say that it did improve a lot. Of course, it’s not too clear, it’s still grainy and washed sometimes, but the details are now more visible compared to what we first saw in the S20 Ultra. Well, I don’t know if you’ll use this feature a lot, but it’s there, and it’s cool.
When it comes to night photography, when night mode is not in use, we get decent brightness, yet it looks washed out. But with night mode turned on, it surely shows big improvements in the photos’ details and brightness without looking too grainy or washed out. The night mode is also flexible for ultra-wide or up to 10x zoom takes.
Speaking of selfies, its 40MP front camera provides extra detailed photos, especially under natural or bright lighting. Like what we’re used to with Samsung, the skin tone looks natural, falling more on cooler tones. There is some noticeable skin smoothening going on, even when beauty mode is turned off. Still, like the rear cameras, we get sharp details, impressive dynamic range, and you can always take wide selfies.
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